After earning a BA in journalism from the University of Rhode Island, Amanpour worked as an electronic graphics designer at WJAR-TV in Providence. In 1981 she became a reporter, anchor, and producer for WBRU-radio in Providence. She became an assistant on the international assignment desk at CNN in Atlanta in 1983. Amanpour soon began covering foreign affairs. Her award-winning reports have often been filed from the world's trouble spots. She is CNN's chief international correspondent.